Fact-Finding Team: The president will set up an independent probe into the deaths of five civilians at the hands of the police

President Joko Widodo says the killing of five young civilians by security forces in Papua earlier this month is deplorable. (Antara Photo/Prasetyo Utomo)

Jayapura. President Joko Widodo has told a crowd in Papua that the shooting of five young civilians in the province earlier this month is unacceptable, and that the government will soon form a fact-finding team to investigate the case.

Joko, who is in Indonesia’s easternmost province to attend Christmas celebrations, said the incident, which occurred in the town of Enarotali in Paniai district on Dec. 8, was deplorable.

Security forces opened fire on about 800 peaceful demonstrators, including women and children. Five protesters were killed and at least 17 others — including elementary school students — were injured, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Joko, who addressed a crowd of hundreds at Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, the provincial capital, on Saturday, said he empathized with the grieving families.

“I want this case to be solved immediately so it won’t ever happen again in the future,” the president said. “By forming a fact-finding team, we hope to obtain valid information [about what actually happened], as well as find the root of the problems.”

Joko added he wanted peace in Papua.

“I want my visit to Papua to be useful, I want to listen to the people’s voices, and I’m willing to open dialogue for a better Papua,” he said.

Joko said the government needed to listen to Papuans in order to solve the long-running conflict in the restive region.

“I think that the people of Papua don’t only need health care, education, the construction of roads and bridges, but they also need to be listened to. That is what I will do in dealing with the problems in Papua,” he said.

Hostilities between Papuan civilians and the security forces have frequently turned deadly since Indonesia annexed the region in 1969.

The president had earlier faced strong calls from Papuans to abandon his plan to celebrate Christmas in the troubled eastern province due to his previous muted response to the Paniai shootings, which were one the worst acts of state violence in years.

Victims and activists have said the incident was prompted with the beating of a 12-year-old boy from Ipakiye village, five kilometers from Enarotali, when the boy confronted a group of men in an SUV for driving at night with their headlights off.

The beating resulted in villagers marching to the capital to demand an explanation the next day. At around 10 a.m. the crowd spotted the same SUV and began attacking it. Police then opened fire on the unarmed crowd, witnesses said.

But the National Police chief, Gen. Sutarman, gave a different account of what happened, claiming the victims were planning an attack against the local military base, where locals suspected the SUV driver was hiding.

Police stopped the crowd from advancing by setting up a barricade, he said.

“Amid the protest, some [unknown] gunmen fired shots from the hills far away, causing the 200 or so people to riot,” the police general claimed.

He also denied that a high school student was among the five people shot dead by officers, despite photographs obtained by HRW clearly showing young men in school uniforms among those shot.

The coordinator of the Papua Peace Network, or JDP, Rev. Neles Tebay, welcomed the president’s plan to form a fact-finding team, having previously criticized the police for being “very secretive” about their investigation.

“The president is willing to identify the problem, so surely this is a good commitment,” Neles said on Saturday.

Urgent Appeal: Extrajudicial and summary execution of five indigenous Papuans by Indonesian National Army

An urgent appeal will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures regarding the killing of four Indigenous Papuan civilians on the 8th December 2014 (and the subsequent death of two more indigenous Papuans injured during the incident) in Paniai District, Papua Province by members of the Indonesian National Army.

Launching of Filep Karma's Book "As if we're half Animals"

President Joko Widodo must end all racism and discrimination in the Land of Papua, from impunity for human rights violators to restrictions on access for independent journalists to visit Papua, said publisher Deiyai.

Dr. Benny Giay, chair of the Deiyai publishing company, said that the racism and discrimination in question is highlighted by Filep Karma, a political prisoner in Abepura prison, in his book ‘As If we’re Half Animals: Indonesian Racism in the Land of Papua,’ launched today in Jayapura. It is 10 years to the day since Karma was jailed for a speech about the marginalisation of ethnic Melanesians in the Land of Papua on 1 December 2004.

Not a mere case of bad apples: Acts of state terrorism

Thirteen years ago on Nov. 10 — Heroes’ Day — the Papuan leader Theys Eluay was found dead in the vicinity of Jayapura city after attending an event at the local headquarters of the Army’s Special Forces, Kopassus.

His body was left abandoned in a public place. His driver, Aristoteles Masoka, went missing, and remains unaccounted for.

KNBP remain most targeted Papuan civil society group

Papuans Behind Bars reports that at the end of November 2014, there were at least 65 political prisoners in Papuan jails.

The West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB) remains the most heavily targeted civil society group in Papua. So far this year, there have been 101 arrests of KNPB activists or those suspected of being affiliated to the KNPB. The pattern of mass arrests of KNPB members continued this month with 28 KNPB members arrested for participating in peaceful commemorative activities celebrating the 6th anniversary of the formation of the KNPB in 2008.

Formation of united West Papua group seen as significant

As reported by Radio New Zealand, three main political groups advocating independence of West Papua have formed the United Liberation Movement for West Papua. Octo Mote is the General Secretary and Benny Wenda their international spokesperson. The movement is composed of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation and the Federal Republic of West Papua.

About the ICP

Human Rights and Peace for Papua is an international coalition of faith-based and civil society organisations (the Coalition) addressing the serious human rights condition in West Papua and supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict there. West Papua (Papua) refers to the western half of the New Guinea island in the Pacific and comprises the eastern most provinces of Indonesia. Indigenous Papuans are suffering from a long and ongoing history of human rights violations and security forces subject them to violence including killings, torture and arbitrary arrests. Impunity prevails. A lack of adequate access to health care and education as well as demographical and economical marginalisation and discrimination mark the living condition for Papuans. A heavy presence of Indonesian security forces, lack of access for international observers such as journalists, corruption and transmigration from other parts of Indonesia aggravate the situation. Political prisoners and the persecution of political activists shows the extent of repression with which freedom of expression and indigenous peoples’ rights are being violated. Papua’s wealth in natural resources attracts businesses and security forces resulting in exploitation through mining, logging, harmful agricultural projects, and environmental degradation. This dynamic challenges traditional indigenous culture while Papuans demand their right to self-determination.